Philippians 4: 4 - 9
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
In this time of Covid, there is a lot of uncertainty around restrictions, fear around the virus, and I kind of get the impression that a fair bit of boredom and complacency is creeping in now that Australia has shut down and the virus is not particularly prevalent. Paul writes to the Philipian church, to encourage them in their time of trial, persecution and uncertainty. I think there are 3 things we can glean from his advice:
1/ Rejoice in the Lord regardless of the situation. We have a choice to focus on the turmoil and trouble around us or we can focus on God / Jesus and who He would be for us in this season. God loves our worship and it is not because He needs it to boost his ego, but rather we need it for what it does in our hearts and lives. Paul emphasises this point with his repetition, as worship allows for God to sit on the throne of our lives. It brings our focus away from ourselves and allows us to set our eyes and heart on God. In any situation, we need to trust that God is still God. Nothing surprises him, and He is still today the same as He has always been - a kind, gracious and compassionate father. And he is a big God. He is Al Shaddai, God almighty and He is the creator of heaven and earth and the lover of our souls. This is good news and worth a little of our focus. There is joy to be found here, and a relief from anxiety in His presence. I travelled to the Middle East to do some voluntary work - a number of years ago now and in the lead up to my solo expedition, I found myself feeling anxious. I knelt by the side of my bed one evening and prayed this scripture, to find that God is true to his word. My anxiety disappeared on the spot. Gone. I found His peace that does indeed transcend my understanding.
2/ We can focus secondly on who God is for us in any given situation. I found myself preaching in a small church a couple of years ago after returning home from some study in the USA. I was preaching on John Ch 6, where Jesus claims to be the 'bread of life', which was his very first 'I am' statement in the book of John. As I am quite independent, strong willed and self sufficient, it challenged me as to whether I really see God as 'bread' - that daily sustenance, goodness, provision and love, that actually looks quite ordinary, and which is easy to take for granted. And true to His form in the following months as I returned home, I found His provision, sustenance and love in quietly supernatural ways... day by day in a time where I was without permenant work. He truly was the 'Bread of life' for me in that season and still today. As Paul says, the Lord is near.
3/ Lastly, we have a choice! We can focus on the problem, or we can focus on all that is lovely, right, pure, true, admirable and noble, as Paul puts it. We can focus on who God would be through us as well. Right now I have a choice to waste time playing games on my phone and watching netflix or I can invest in relationships, connection, creativity, trying something new and things that benefit myself and others and to keep my focus on God. Hence this blog. Our God is too awesome not to share :) God can use creativity and innovation in this season to bring His Kingdom to earth.
So blessings to you! I hope you enjoyed my first ever blog. I trust that in this time, you can change your focus - to worship our amazing God, to be thankful and to see who He might be for you and through you at this time. And yes, I tried to make my own sourdough and failed..... May His peace be yours!
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